-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The North Koreans know how to put on a show and this year -- the 60th anniversary of the end of hostilities in the Korean War -- they 've gone all out for the Mass Games .

If you 've toyed with the idea of going , this is the summer to do it .

It 's a lot easier to get into the Hermit Kingdom than you probably expect and the incredible spectacle that is the Mass Games officially runs until September 8 , though it is often extended .

You go in knowing there will be 100,000 performers -- gymnasts , dancers , acrobats -- that the music will be loud and there will be fireworks and strobe lights , but nothing prepares you for the sheer scale of the production .

It 's the Beijing Olympics opening night a dozen times over with a camp director and an unlimited budget .

Half the people on the tour I went with opted to go a second night , hoping to catch some of the bits they missed the first time around .

Why now is the time to go

Why go now ?

Because this could well be the last year that Arirang will be staged .

Arirang is not the Mass Games -- it 's the name of the theme the Games have followed for the last 10 years or so -- a Romeo and Juliet-like folk tale .

So while there will almost certainly be a Mass Games next year , it may not follow this theme .

What 's more , without any anniversaries or significant dates to celebrate next year , it 's expected to be far more low-key than the great pomp and ceremony that defines this year 's show .

Ethical debates persist over whether tourists should visit North Korea , a country with a poor human rights record . Critics say tourist dollars help the repressive government , but others say the tourism money generated in North Korea is minimal .

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice -- what North Koreans call the victory in the Fatherland Liberation War -- no expense has been spared .

New at the Mass Games

Regulars at the world 's largest choreographed gymnastics performance say this year 's show has plenty of new material , with familiar acts given a new twist .

`` I 've been about 50 times and 50 % of it was different this year , '' says Simon Cockerell of Beijing-based Koryo Tours . `` There are whole new acts and there 's a lot more technology -- the digital screens , the arches on top of the stadium , all that 's new . ''

That new technology had a major hiccup the night I visited , July 27 -- Victory Day . Five minutes into the 90-minute show there was a total blackout .

Power outages are everyday occurrences in Pyongyang , but to have one at such a high-profile event was unusual .

The spectacle was just kicking off -- a wall of students on the far side of the stadium , the `` human pixels , '' were flipping through books of colored cards to flash up messages and images , giant strobe lights rolled across the arena , the music was pounding , thousands of performers surged across the stadium -- and we were plunged into darkness .

Only the night before North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had sat in the stadium watching the very same performance with Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao .

Fortunately for show managers , the blackout did n't happen then .

We sat in silence . No one booed , no one jeered and five minutes later when the power came on and the show began again -- from the beginning -- there was a round of applause .

`` People live with blackouts all the time , '' says Cockerell . `` It 's a sign that someone has been in North Korea a while when the lights go out and they just keep talking or doing whatever they were doing . ''

Military messaging dominates

North Koreans are big on military motifs and this year they 've gone to town . Even a flower show we visited had scores of missiles and tanks tucked in among the red `` Kimjongilia '' blossoms .

At the Mass Games , a large gold medal -- to celebrate War Victory -- floats above the May Day Stadium and massive video screens show footage from the Korean War and a video of the long-range rocket launched earlier this year .

Given the massive show of military might and boys toys it 's no surprise our tour attracted a fair few of 20-something men , but there 's something for everyone at the Mass Games -- anyone who loves musicals will be on Cloud Nine , there 's plenty of kitsch for the Camp Brigade and it 's a photographer 's dream shoot .

Foreigner reactions

New Zealander Will Seal , 24 , went to the Games two nights running : `` It was amazing , but I did get slightly concerned about all those kids spending time out of school , it 's a massive undertaking . ''

He was n't the only one in our group who was left wondering about the 20,000 children who spend months training intensively for the Mass Games . Briton Matthew Durling mused : `` Where else in the world could you martial thousands of school children , without paying them , and have them do something like that ? ''

The regulars in our group were quick to notice another new element this year -- at the end of the Arirang performance there is a five-minute segment dedicated to international friendship , especially between China and North Korea and Russia .

While the `` human pixels '' flashed up messages of peace and friendship , as well as a rainbow between Pyongyang 's Arch of Triumph and Beijing 's Tiananmen Square Gate , Lion Dancers , Pandas and Russian Dancers strutted about on stage .

The message of friendship with China came at the end of last year 's games , too .

But the grand gesture towards Russia this year is new . What does it mean ?

One of our guides said it was `` about politics . '' Another said it was `` more about economics . ''

No doubt they 're both right -- politics and economics make for cozy bedfellows and North Korea is waking up to the reality that if it wants to get on , to progress , it needs to start pulling in some hard currency .

That 's no doubt why visitors are made to feel so welcome , particularly at the country 's best known tourist attraction .

Currency matters

Foreigners are n't allowed to use the local currency -- the won -- and must bring cash in with them in either U.S. dollars , euros or renminbi .

Renminbi , I discovered however , offers by far the worst conversion rate . First-class tickets go for $ 150 -LRB- $ 159 -RRB- , but this was conveniently rounded to 1,500 RMB -LRB- $ 195 -RRB- making it a good 20 % more expensive .

Second-class tickets cost $ 100 and third-class tickets are $ 80 . If you go a second night , you get a free upgrade .

The only way to see the Mass Games is by joining a tour .

Most tours leave from Beijing and the tour company will arrange your North Korean visa , travel to Pyongyang , hotels , meals and Mass Games tickets .

There 's still plenty of time to go this summer -- decide today and you could be there in 10 days .

The best-established outfit is Beijing-based Koryo Tours , which has been taking groups since 1993 and has good relationships in North Korea . Koryo Tours offers a host of itineraries from a two-day Mini Break Mass Games Tour , which includes a Pyongyang city guide and Mass Games entry for $ 790 -LRB- $ 1,048 -RRB- to a seven-night Ultimate Tour that takes in the Games as well as trip to the DMZ , Mt. Myohyamg and more for $ 1,690 -LRB- $ 2,242 -RRB- .

New Korea Tours is a U.S.-based travel agency specializing in travel to North Korea -- available tours include a seven-night trip that takes in the Mass Games for $ 2,690 .

Remote Lands is another U.S.-based tour operator that offers trips to North Korea and other Asian destinations .

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North Koreans put on a magnificent Arirang show to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War

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Half of the show elements are new compared to last year 's show , says a Mass Games regular

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This year 's show highlights the friendship with China and Russia